Rat Bikes! Pub Bikes Beaters! Frankenbikes!

I think a longer stem will counteract the ride a little. As your stem gets longer, you create less and less turning force when you lean on the bars, with a single hand say. I think. Will try it anyway, as soon as a cheap stem pops up in my Ebay search.

I haven't had a beater recently - in the modern era. My daily ride was a really lovely 29er, which is fine, as I generally don't worry about stuff getting nicked*, but a beater like this takes me back to the bikes I used to build up when I was in my teens. In those days you could go down the local tip and rescue bikes and parts from the top of the pile**, so they were all beaters.

The rack has already been used to cart my eight year old around the locale. He thinks it's ace - especially as he thinks we will go to jail if we get caught.

• Don't care - well y'know, do care, but don't let it dictate what bike I ride where.
  
  

** Also, you could get old prams and stuff for making proper go karts. Really proper ones with string steering. Sometimes it was like the Bash Street Kids round our way.